The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-09-17

such equally delicious baked beans,
brown bread and Indian pudding for
Sundays. These scenes we're very nice,
light and short. They we're varied some
times by pancakes. But the Irish, like
the Scotch, always eat their things cold,
while we, Americans, insist upon having
them "piping hot" 1 do not think
health has anything to do with this, to us,
odd custom. think it is simply for the
convenience of the house. mother. At
three o'clock an immense porridge pot
was hung over the fire, and at seven the
family supped "them." The Irish and
Scotch always sup their porridge and
always speak of it in the plural. This
latter meal, though, is not regular one,
in our sense. The porridge is put on the
table with milk, and the members of the
family come in as they choose and sup,
little or much, as they are hungry or not.
That which is left over, and there is al
ways good deal, is warmed up the next
morning with milk, and with tea and
bread and butter, constitutes the break
fast.
As far as could learn potatoes are the
staple food of Ireland. The consequences
of rot, or short crop, are thus disas-
trous. Next to potatoes is oatmeal, used
mostly as porridge, though sometimes in
the form of cakes, but that word gives
no indication to an American of what
they really are. like porridge immense
ly; 1 use the word carefully, remember
ing the size Of my porridge plate; but
as to the cakes I would as soon eat chips
Next to oatmeal is floar, and next to that
cornmeal. They learned to eat this in
the time of the famine, and many are
now very fond Of it. OF vegetables, ex-
cept potatoes, they use very few. Great
crops of turnips are raised, but mostly
for feeding stock. Cabbages are grown,
too, in every garden, but they, too, are
mostly fed out to the beasts. Indeed the
gardens of the small farmers and cottars
are very eager-looking affairs. You see
no lettuce, radishes, peas, beans, beets
or cucumbers, and yet all these would
grow easily there. Tomatoes are un-
known except to the gentry. Sweet corn,
squashes and pumpkins, they tell me will
not grow in that climate. In the gardens
OF the gentry I found all the vegeta-
bles growing that the climate would
possibly raise. AS to fruit, in all the
gardens are gooseberries, and such too,
as we never see in America; also black
currants, which are in universal request
for jelly and jam. In the gentry gardens
saw strawberries, raspberries, red and
white currants, cherries and apples. But
the poorer people seldom get taste of any
Of these. 1t is no privation though for they
never had them and seem to care nothing
about them. The staple productions of
the soil in these northern parts are
oats, which they call corn, lint, meaning
fax, and oh, how beautiful those fields of
fax we're! Their delicate blue flowers wav-
ing 80 gracefully in the sunshine,-pota
toes, turnips and cabbagel They raise,
for sale, cattle, horses, sheep, pigs and
poultry. Even the smallest cottar has
his one pig raised, not to eat but to sell,
while the wife has her fowls, turkeys,
ducks and geese, not to eat but to sell.
Almost every cottar too, has his COW, and it
is mystery to me how they contrive to
make such sweet, golden butter, with so
few conveniencies; for the milk, while in
the pans is exposed to all the odors of the
house, scarcely any one having dairy,
or even buttery. What the butter would
be with suitable place for the cream to
raise, l cannot imagine--fi for gods! They
have all what seemed to me curious
practice as regards milking the COWS; they
never milk till eleven, between that and
one P. NJ, and again just before bedtime.
They could give me no reason for doing
thus, only it was the custom of the coun-
try-they'd always done SO.
And how did I spend my fortnight?
Well, mostly out of doors, as I went there
for the pure air, and the weather was dry
and sunny all the time. They told me the
morning after arrived that they were
going to "draw peat" and wouldn't like
to go up to "The Moss" AS knew moth
ing about peat, thought L would, and SO
followed the Scarf" They have none
of those immense farm-wagons we have,
but only a cart, which is like itself and
nothing else, and drawn by one horse or
pony, little animals but Of great power.
Indeed, everything over here scenes TO
me to be done in zone horse way.
followed this cart up the 'loaming,"
which narrow road afterward became a
favorite haunt Of mine, the earth. d kes
each side being covered with a vegetation
that was full Of interest. Entering the
gate at the end OF the 'loaming," and
passing field given up to the COWS, a
pasture indeed, which had once been peat,
then "moss," and then by drainage, arabic
land, we came directly upon several acres
of"moss, which was bounded by the peat
l was surprised and interested to find this
boundary solid black wall, five feet in
height, smooth, almost as if planed
The peat to be removed lay on the "moss'
in small piles. 1t is cut in May, with a
spade made especially for the purpose,
and which shapes the peat as it cuts, the
shape being long, narrow brick, admi-